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No fear of olive green in Kolkata 22 Nov 2007, 0116 hrs IST , TNN
KOLKATA:
On a day of ugly clashes between rioters and the police, there was an unusual
sight. On Wednesday evening, even as an Army column of around 30 jawans marched
from Park Circus seven-point crossing to Moulali along Park Street and AJC Bose
Road, rioters, far from backing off, thronged the streets and kept chanting, "Go
back Army, go back police!"
At
places like Mullick Bazar and AJC Bose Road-Ripon Street crossing, where a road
blockade was on since morning, the crowds thinned as the Army column approached.
But as soon as the men in fatigues passed, the mob reassembled and began burning
tyres. At the Ripon Street crossing, they hurled stones from the narrow bylanes,
though not at the Army but at the
policemen.
At Park Circus
bridge No 4 and Topsia, the scene was worse. A Kolkata Municipal Corporation
truck was set afire even after Army deployment. The troops, carrying rifles,
tried to shoo away the
crowd.
It was disconcerting to
note that the sight of soldiers instilled no fear in the crowd, a marked
departure from the scene during the riots after Indira Gandhi's assassination in
1984 and the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992 - the two occasions on which the
Army had been called out in Kolkata. The Army had also been deployed on internal
security duties in different parts of the state during Naxal violence in the
1970s.
"Times have changed.
Earlier, the mere sight of troops marching through the city had a sobering
effect on trouble-makers. This used to make our task easier," said an Army
officer. One of the reasons could be even police and paramilitary forces - BSF,
CRPF and RAF - are being allowed to wear olive green uniform, the officer
said.
"Kalashnikov-wielding
forces in combat fatigues walking on the streets has become a common enough
sight. People have got used to it and the fear of the Army has gone. Until the
Army opens fire, they won't know the difference," he
added.
"Curfew should have been
imposed before deploying the Army. This would have avoided troop contact with
the mobs," said Colonel (retd) Biswajit. "It's the lack of discipline in civil
society and bandhs at the drop of a hat that have made people immune to security
forces."
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